Door construction



Nov; s, 1935.

J. TESEK DOOR CONSTRUCTI Filed Aug. 18, 1

2 sheds-sheet 1 INVENTQR NOV. 5, 1935. 1 TESEK 2,020,044

. DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 18, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 zo' l0 20 v 3a )figli i 55, J

15,52, Z3, Z4,v 2:7 26, Z7, Z5) l5) 'L l 3 L/ #gli 40 40 VE 0R figli Y al l l ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This inventionrelates to a' door construction and inparticular to a'fabricated wood door Vhavingveneered surfaces.

It is well 'knownV to those skilled in the art that regardlessof the treatment of the 4constituent elements' of no'wfus'ed fabricated'wood doors there is a` certain amount of distortion orwarping when in' use', and that this distortion or warping is very difficult to eliminate or appreciably mininiize. Y

Itis age'neral object of my invention to provide'an improvedfabricated, veneered surface, door'e'onstruction which will either entirely eliminate or 'greatly'minimize the tendency of a door llf` to warp or distort throughout its life, regardless of Varying weather'and temperature conditions.

Itisanother object'of my invention to provide a'door cnstructionof this character comprising mainly 'scrapv or vrelatively inexpensive wood ele- "'i ments interiorly thereof and iinishedof relatively more expensive' woods arranged exteriorly thereof sof as tofproduce a"v doorV giving the appearance ofr a very expensive construction, but in'reality beingrelatively inexpensive to manufacture.

" Another vob'ject is to provide a door of the veneered surfacetype having acore member of scrap' or similarly inexpensive material assembled fir'cooperative"arrangement with frame elements`of"relatively`more expensive material, and

having veneered surfaces comprised Vof alternate strips or diffrent kindsof' woods, whereby the combinationland arrangement ofv Woods chosen for the core, frame and veneer elements 'is vsuch a's 'to entirely 'eliminate' the -distortion or warping tendency 'of theassembled structure.

YAnother object is to provide a door'construction-having' core and lframe members and a pluralityfof strips overlying the frame Yand core members, one ofthe strips spanning across` or overlying* the frame and core elements in'such afashion a's'fto'l'ioldV these in rigid assembly or alignment and thereby eliminate or greatly Vminimize any 'tendency toward relative movement betweenthese elements.

The invention ltherefore resides in the particularlcombination and arrangement of elements in a fabricated, veneered-surface, wood door construction asv will hereinafter appear in the speci- 50 r` cation `anddrawings;1in whichV Y Fig. '1*is`an.eleva`tion of a door embodying my invention.`

VAlig. 2-'i`s a side V elevation of the door shown in Fig. 1. 525iL Fig. 3 is a cut-away 4elevation of the door pictured in Fig. 1, showing the elements in its construction.

Fig. 4 is an end View of that in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail of a core unit.

Fig. 6is an end View of that in Fig. 5. 57

Fig. 7 is another embodiment of my invention showing another arrangement of elements.

Fig. 8 is a detail of a construction for curved end doors.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and l 4, I have illustrated a door having a core construction l, preferably comprised of glued together scrap wood of pine, chestnut, or like relatively inexpensive wocds, tongued and grooved along opposing parallel edges thereof, as at l2, l5'n with binder strips I4. The'gr-ain of the component elements making up the core i0 preferably extends laterally of the door, that is left to right or right to left as viewed in Fig. 3, while the grain of the binder strip i4, which may Valso be fabri- 20 cated from scrap or relatively inexpensive woods similar to that used in the core Ml, preferably eX- tends at right Vangles to thegrain in the core Eil. Circumscribing the assembled core and binder strips and flush therewith are shown rail 25" members l'and stile members I8. These members are preferably of finish woods, such for example as walnut, or other highly polishable wood.

YThe stile and rail members are interiitted at their i junctions as at 20. This intertting is preferably 30Y outermost of these extending for the full vertical 40v dimension of the assembly, that is, from the top rail tothe bottom rail. While I have shown a definite number of veneer strips, it is to be understood that any other number maybe used with the limitations hereinafter to be noted.

These strips 22 to 2e inclusive are preferably different ki-nds of wood, as will more fully hereinafter be described, and have their grain extending lengthwise of the strip.Y The entire surface of the door, including the edges, being of finished wood, may be polished to present a pleasing appearance and give the effect of a door of expensive manufacture.

By using a binder strip of relatively cheapV Woods less Yof the finished Aor relatively more ex- T pensive wood is required for the rail and stile elements, and only finished or hard woods are presented to the view while at the same time maintaining both rigidity and long Wearing qualities of the door.

In the assembly of the veneer strips 22 to 28, inclusive, with the core, binder, and frame elements described, it is essential that the outermost strips, for example strips 22 and 28, span over the stile members I8, binder elements I4, and a portion of the core I0, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The function of the binder strip I4 with its tongue and groove connection with the core I0 is to prevent any tendency of the core I0 to distort in a plane normal to the paper, as viewed in Fig. 3, while the function of the rail members I6 and the stile members I 8, with their intertted joints 20, is to prevent any distortion of the frame elements in a direction in the plane of the paper. By arranging the outside veneered strips 22 and 28 so that they span, respectively, over the underlying stile land binder members and the adjacent core portions for the full length thereof, the stile, binder and core are held tightly in assembled relation, thereby further preventing any tendency of the structure to distort or Warp. By further making the veneer strips 22 to 28 of different kinds of woods, which are affected diversely by weather and temperature conditions, the tendency to'warp or distort is further inhibited.

I have found by experimentation that certain classes of woods may be used for the veneer strips 22 to 28, inclusive, which in addition to providing a door of rigid construction substantially eliminating or greatly minimizing any tendency to Warp or distort, also provides for a door having a highly polishable surface, possessing characteristics of beauty and adaptable to combinations thereof in harmony with the new modernistic motif. While itis possible to work out a number of combinations of different woods for these strips, the following are known to be particularly effective, both as regards construction and appearance, and I desire that they shall form a part of my invention.

One combination of this character comprises the arranging of the strips such that the strips 22, 25 and 28 are of walnut, while the strips 23 and 21 are of birch, and the strips 24 and 26 of gum.

Another combination comprises making the strips 22, 25 and 2B of gum, the strips 23 and 21 of birch, and the strips 24 and 26 of walnut.

Still another combination is an arrangement whereby the strips 22, 25 and 28 are of birch, the

strips 23 and 21 are of gum, and the strips 24 and 26 are of walnut.

Yet another combination comprises alternate strips of mahogany or cherry and birch.

While I have shown the core I0 in Fig. 3 as being of a single unit comprised of scrap woods glued together, this may also be comprised of individual units assembled together, each unit in itself being comprised of scrap woods glued together, such as is depicted in Figs. 5 and 6. As there shown, a unit 3|!'may be made up of scrap or end woods glued together and along parallel edges thereof a tongue 32 may be formed to intert with a corresponding groove in the binder member I4 as heretofore described.

It will be apparent that the rail, stile, binder and core m'embers described may be cut to xed dimensions corresponding to standard door sizes and carried in stock ready for assembly with Yde sirediveneer strips selected or specied on' order. It will also be apparent from the construction illustrated that the assembly is adapted to high speed .and cheap production manufacture at a relatively low cost, thereby making possible the supply at low cost of an expensive appearing door for ordinary or relatively low priced homes. 5

I am aware that there are circumstances or tastes which are not favorable to the use of veneer strips as heretofore described and I therefore contemplate within my invention a door construction of less mechanical perfection but 10 having a smooth veneered surface. Such a door construction is illustrated in Fig. 7. As there shown, a core 34, built up similar to the heretofore described core I0 but having its grain extending vertically, as viewed in Fig. '1, is cirl5 cumscribed by rail members 36 and stile members 38 joined at 40 as heretofore described and glued in flush assembly with the core 34. Overlying the-assembled core, rail and stile members is shown an intermediate veneer 42 extending 20 transversely of the door in unbroken section for the full distance thereof and being in adhesive contact with the opposite stile members 38, and having its grain extending at right angles to the grain of the core 34. Overlying the intermediate 2,5; ply or veneer 42 and having its grain extending at right angles to the grain of the ply 42 is a second or finish veneer 44. It is essential for the purposes of this invention that the plies or veneers 42 and 44 and the core 34 have their grain 3@ extending in the relative directions indicated. The assembly as shown in Fig. '7 is preferably adhered together by gluing or a similar process.

While all of the embodiments thus far have been shown as having straight edges, it is to be 3 understood that my invention is not limited to such but is adapted to have curved edges by such a construction as is illustrated in Fig. 8. As there shown a door which is to have a curved edge cut along the broken lines 46 may have its rail 40; element 48 comprised of a plurality of elements 50, 52 and 54 intertted along coacting edges, as shown at' 56 and 58, and'joined with stile members by intertted connections as shown at 62. The'elements 58, 52 and 54 are preferably 45j.: arranged with respect to each other and respect to the Stiles 60, so that a minimum of material is required to effect connection therebetween and to permit of the cutting of the arc along the line 46 without undue waste of the material so cut 50". 01T. A core 64 may be assembled with these elements as indicated and in the manner heretofore described. A

While I have illustrated certain specic embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that Vcertain modifications and other embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Further, it will be obvious that while I have shown embodiments in the door art my invention is also applicable to the manufacture of table tops, desk tops, dresser tops, and other like articles of furniture. Where therefore the particular nomenclature used in the claims refers specifically to the door art it is to be understood that their equivalents or counterparts in other arts are also intended. Also, for the purpose of convenience in the claims I have referred to the woods comprising the binder and '(40, core elements as being unfinished woods, that is, scrap or relatively coarse woods, and the woods comprising the rail, stile and finish veneers as being finished woods, that is, hard Woods adapted to have a polished surface. u.;

I claim: portion of said core being narrow to receive a The combination of a core, binder members rail element comprising a plurality of members tongued and grooved With and along opposing intertting along co-acting edges, said elements edges of said core, frame elements circumscribing being so positioned with respect tog each other said binder members and core, a plurality of vethat a rounded portion may be out by sawing 5 neer strips of different kinds of Wood overlying through saidv latter members of the frame. said frame, binder and core members, the upper JOSEPH TESEK. 

